Mike Armstrong is a Winona Christian graduate who, through trials and tribulations, found his calling in coaching. Armstrong moved to Winona at the age of six and lived here throughout his childhood and into adulthood. He graduated from Winona Christian School when it was Winona Academy in 1981. Armstrong went on to Mississippi State after high school but found that college was not for him. He then pursued a career lasting 14 years at Georgia Pacific near Duck Hill. Armstrong’s 14-year career at the plant ended when doctors discovered cancerous cells in his left leg. During and after his fight with cancer, Armstrong found light in the battle and took the opportunity to go back to college to become a teacher and coach in 1999.
Armstrong explained his call to coaching, stating, “I always loved sports growing up, and honestly I thought that’s what I was gonna be.”
Armstrong began his career in coaching at Winona High School in 2000 where he helped coach girls softball. He stated that he began coaching softball mostly due to the fact that he had two daughters at Winona High School, one in the sixth grade and one in the eighth grade. In his last year of coaching at Winona High, 2005, the girl’s softball team went to the 3A North State Championship. In 2006 Armstrong graduated from Mississippi State University and was offered an assistant coach position in football and softball for the 2006-2007 school year at Winona High School. However, Armstrong declined the position as a new path in life had been revealed to him. He had received a coaching position offer for softball in Flowood at Northwest Rankin High School.
“I wanted to take softball to a higher level,” Armstrong spoke on the subject.
Recently, having just finished the school year, two of Armstrong’s 2024 graduates went on to sign with the University of Southern Mississippi and one with Coastal Carolina. Already three of his 2025 seniors are committed to play with universities upon their graduation, one committing to Georgia University, one to the University of Mississippi, and one to Mississippi College. In addition, Northwest Rankin Cougars softball was named the number one team in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 on May 30, 2024.
